E-ISSN : 2733-4538
In this study, the relationships between the practical Confucian virtue of Zhongyong (Doctrine of the Mean), mental health, and psychological flexibility were investigated. Zhongyong consists of three aspects: understanding the situations and taking appropriate action or optimal response (timeliness and harmony); not being biased and going toward the extreme (dynamic balance and equilibrium); and being open to and tolerant of others (empathy). This study was designed to examine the relationships between the Zhongyong attitude and various positive/negative psychological variables (depression, anxiety, borderline personality traits, self-esteem, well-being, psychological flexibility, and interpersonal competence) with the participation of 364 college students. The results indicated that Zhongyong was significantly correlated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and borderline personality traits and higher levels of self-esteem, well-being, and interpersonal competence. In particular, the Zhongyong attitude had a stronger effect on interpersonal competence than psychological flexibility. Finally, the implications and limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed.
This study explored the subtypes of depression based on various symptoms in multiple dimensions, through a person-centered approach. For this purpose, latent profile analysis of 473 depressive patients was conducted using specific problems scales of MMPI-2-RF, which consist of multidimensional variables such as somatic/cognitive scales, internalizing, externalizing, and interpersonal problems. As a result, a 5-class solution was adopted and the classes were labeled as the mild group, helplessness group, somatic group, avoidant group with anxiety, and irritable group with anxiety. Each group differed in their clinical characteristics. The mild group (22.6%) presented a low level of symptoms in all the dimensions and had lower comorbidity. The helplessness group (23.9%) experienced high hopelessness and self-doubt, but a lower level of other somatic/ cognitive or externalizing symptoms. The somatic group (27.9%) experienced elevated somatic/cognitive symptoms, whereas passivity and social avoidance in interpersonal scales were not as high as those of the helplessness group. The avoidant group with anxiety (19.0%) presented a high level of symptoms in all the internalizing scales, especially high passivity and social avoidance in interpersonal scales. The rate of co-occurrence with anxiety disorders was also high in this group. The irritable group with anxiety (6.6%) was characterized by high externalizing symptoms such as aggression and activation, in addition to overall high internalizing symptoms, and a high rate of alcohol use disorder. Based on these results, the implications and limitations of this study are discussed.
The present study evaluated the psychometric characteristics and the factor structure of the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II) among the general population in South Korea. The BDI-II was completed by a total of 1,022 adult participants from South Korea with an average age of 35.61 years. Of the 1,022 participants, 53.9% were females. The Korean version of the BDI-II demonstrated strong internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and had a strong correlation with other depression-related self-report measures. Using confirmatory factor analyses, a bifactor model identified a general factor and two specific factors consisting of somatic group factor and cognitive group factor provided the best fit to the data. These findings suggest that the BDI-II is a useful psychological instrument for assessing and understanding depressive symptoms in the Korean general population. Additionally, these findings provide support for a detailed evaluation of depression by numerous healthcare professionals who require a reliable and valid assessment to screen depression.
Not every individual who experiences a traumatic event is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or shows its symptoms. Resilience has been understood to be a key factor that helps individuals adapt successfully following an adversity. Acceptance has also been considered a therapeutic factor for such individuals. However, there are few studies that investigated the relationship between resilience and acceptance, and their impacts on post-traumatic stress symptoms. The current study examined the effect of resilience on post-traumatic stress symptoms and the mediating role of acceptance in the relationship. A total of 140 participants who experienced trauma (80 females and 60 males) were included in the analyses. Resilience was found to be negatively correlated with post-traumatic stress symptoms and acceptance was found to mediate the relationship between the two. This study provides an understanding of the mechanism underpinning the effect of resilience on post-traumatic stress symptoms. Study limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.
The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a multidimensional personality inventory (Big 10 Inventory, BTI) to assess general and maladaptive personality dimensions. For the pilot study, an extensive literature review and experts’ workshop led to initial personality constructs and 234 preliminary items. A survey was conducted to 1,200 adults to examine item characteristics and factor structures. In the main study, 180 items were administered to 600 adults along with other personality measures. The results indicated that 165 items (80 and 85 items for measuring 5 dimensions of general personality and maladaptive personality, respectively) were best performed and thus chosen as the final items. The BTI showed adequate internal and test-retest reliability. Model fit indices from confirmatory factor analysis were satisfactory. Convergent and divergent validity were supported with significant correlation patterns of the BTI factors with the corresponding factors of the Korean Big Five Inventory-15 and Personality Inventory for DSM-5. Finally, the implications, limitations, and suggestions for further research of the BTI were discussed.
The present study aimed to investigate interactions between cognitive biases and the impact of cognitive bias on motor behaviors and self-reported motivations using cognitive bias modification (CBM). Thirty-two non-depressed undergraduates were recruited and randomly allocated to a positive (n= 16) or negative CBM group (n= 16). The results showed that CBM was effective in inducing an interpretive bias corresponding to each training condition. In free-recall tasks, the positive group showed more positive intrusions, while the negative group showed more neutral intrusions. In computerized driving tasks after CBM training, the negative group showed more errors under both the stop-sign and in-the-wall conditions. The negative group also showed higher scores in fight systems, whereas the positive training group scored higher in behavioral activation systems for self-reported motivations. These results indicate that negative interpretation bias via CBM training not only induced negative memory bias but also affected motor behavior and self-reported motivations through impaired cognitive control. The findings of this study highlight the importance of interactions among cognitive biases in depression and the possibility of modifying them.